Car accident at Fangcaodi?
So ... a little bird told me today that a young Fangcaodi student was hit by a car. This is a terrible thing -- made even worse by the fact that this supposed car accident happened inside the school grounds!! Apparently (and some would say, obviously) it has caused a stir among Fangcaodi parents. When your child can get hit by a car inside school grounds, it raises some serious safety concerns.
Can anyone back-up this story? Or have more info?
Imogen Kandel, beijingkids Managing Editor (Former)




Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
Yes this is correct. It happened to my son Julien on November 15th of last year. The details are below:
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6e64d4830100n064.html
The school has very unfortunately not taken responsibility. it took 2 weeks after this accident and threats from other parents to finally agree to limit cars on the playground. Upon our return to China after 3 months of medical treatment overseas, the school told us that we should "sue them" if we wanted to get any compensation.
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
gosh, sorry...
but it is very scary...i often go to Jenny Lou's there...the traffic in rush hour, and time to pick up kids is horrible there, sooooo many people to pick up kids, soooo many cars....
www.familyfunwithyuliya.com
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
how is your son now?
PS: i thought the international section had moved to shuangjing?
Follow thebeijinger on weibo! http://weibo.com/tbjmagazine
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
That is terrible - my condolences to you and your family as well. I am relieved to see that your son is recovering.
Other than saying "so sue us," has the school taken any actions to compensate you or improve their safety conditions?
This makes me think twice about considering sending our daughter to attend Fangcaodi in the future.
Jerry Chan, Editorial Director
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
I'm so sorry to hear about your son. I was hoping that this was some kind of rumor that had been blown out of proportion, but obviously it is very far from that. I hope your son is recovering well. What a terrible response from the school! Good luck with getting the compensation you deserve.
Imogen Kandel, beijingkids Managing Editor (Former)
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
What a harrowing story. Thank God your son survived and is recovering, but the schools attitude is reprehensible. I have had friends dealing with other schools who had issues (though not like yours) where the school was legally responsible but refused to do anything. Once my friends had a lawyer contact the school, the administration immediately paid up. I hope you get this resolved quickly. We will keep Julien and the rest of your family in our prayers.
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
Thank you for your messages. We have indeed hired a lawyer and are putting pressure on the school. Still no resolution and no major changes.
the updated story with the reaction of the school is here:
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6e64d4830100p6qy.html
We are pursuing this as want to use this as a case such that schools like FCD take children safety and accountability more seriously.
Feel free to circulate that blog to other parents who might be thinking about FCD. They should know what kind happen, and the reaction you will get there if something happens.
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
Keep it up. Have you considered contacting the Chinese press as well? And maybe a Chinese show like "7 Days" (第七天频道)that covers all sorts of consumer complaints - it usually seems to get the aggrieved parties featured results
Jerry Chan, Editorial Director
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
This gets my blood absolutely boiling. And the further I read, the more I felt my blood pressure rise.
The school's reaction is beyond sickening. "To avoid walking from nearby parking lots, the school’s management and principal teachers prefer to park and maneuver where the children play and rest." So presidents and principal teachers simply don't want to deal with finding parking, having to walk a little further, or maybe dealing with public transportation? It's too much of a "hassle", so they feel entitled to park and drive their vehicles where children should feel safe to play? It's bad enough having to dodge self-entitled drivers while crossing the street or even walking on the sidewalk (My kids still have this false sense of security, since cars do not drive on the sidewalk back in the states. Yet here, all bets are off, so I have to remind them to always be alert.)... But to worry about such a thing on a school playground? No. Absolutely not. I agree with contacting the press. Raise a stink, get this story out there, and do what it takes to make sure the offending parties are held accountable for such negligence and utter disregard for the children which are being entrusted to their care.
I will keep you all in my thoughts and hope he continues on the healing path. Hang in there, and take care.
The photos are heart-wrenching, and when I read about Julien's psychological issues stemming from the incident, I felt sick to my stomach. Poor little guy.
Offline
Re: Car accident at Fangcaodi?
What a horrible thing for Julien to experience and the b.s. that the school has given. Cameras not working, not reporting this to the police, and keeping the guilty driver on their staff. Realizing how things work here, suing the school or driver, probably will result in much but it needs to be done to get the message out to people about the attitude of the school officials.
I hope and pray that Julien fully recovers from his physical and mental injuries quickly. I know that as a father I would want justice and if it happened to my child, I would pursue it to the fullest and probably might also be driving around places where the driver walks around at night.
Offline